PVE tuning of warships

Modifying warships for PvE games in survival mode. Description and examples.

Introduction

PvE (Player vs Environment) is a single player game in survival mode where your opponents are NPCs from mods that provide hostile content. The largest collection of such mods is collected in the workshop Meridius_IX / Lucas

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1991339991
The main content of these PvE mods are drone warships that will attack and damage you and your buildings. The best strategy in such a game is to capture an enemy ship and modify it for more confident survival. However, not every enemy warship is suitable for this and you may have to wait until you come across a suitable one.

Another way to survive is to build your own warship from a ready-made blueprint, which can be welded manually or using a welding ship or welding dock. This is a longer route, but it allows you to get a ship equipped with everything necessary for survival in any conditions. Such a ship can be found in the Steam Workshop and modified to the required functional standards.

This is the main idea behind writing this guide. This may be of interest to those who themselves have encountered modifications of vanilla ships from SE content in a survival game.

Corvette RED

Most people are probably familiar with this image.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2875019044
This is one of the ships from the workshop of the game developers KeenSWH, which was used in the splash screen for update 1.203.6 and which is the best way to demonstrate the essence of PvE tuning using an example. Restyling is carried out using only those blocks that were available at the time the ship was published in the workshop on October 14, 2022. Exceptions would be automation units and flat atmospheric thrusters, which are optional and not critical. The author's design will be preserved as much as possible.

The ship is very well designed for PvE and can move in space and on planets with gravity up to 1.2g, as well as on a jump engine with a maximum range of up to 2000 km. The corvette has predominantly heavy armor, long-range forward-facing weapons, automatic turrets for close combat with a high density of fire, as well as good angular maneuverability and forward and upward thrust. You can get to the ship from the surface of the planet without using a jetpack. It is sealed, has ventilation for oxygen supply and a survival module for respawning inside the ship.

Disadvantages include thrusters that are not protected by armor and low thrust for the rest. Vulnerable main hydrogen tank, O2/H2 generators and gyros. Inability to produce ammunition and components for repairs away from the base. Difficulty moving around the ship - on the way out, the character can hit the turrets, and inside, get stuck on the stairs leading to the control room. Lack of radio tag antenna or beacon.

All this can be corrected during tuning, as well as improving weapons and adding new features:

..............................	Corvette RED Original ..................................................................	Corvette RED Tuning .................................................................................
Main	PCU: 4431 Blocks: 420 Weight: 467 Tn Power: 70 MW Hydrogen: 17 ML Oxygen: 200 Kl Thrust: 661 Tn/1g	PCU: 4925 Blocks: 435 Weight: 490 Tn Power: 70 MW Hydrogen: 18 ML Oxygen: 100 Kl Thrust: 661 (734 Atm) Tn/1g
Acceleration m/sec^2	Forward: 14.7 Backward: 4.4 Sides: 4.4 Up: 13.3 Down: 4.4	Forward: 14.7 Backward: 8.8 Sides: 6.6 Up: 13.3 Down: 4.4
Weapon	Atrillery Gun: 1 (2000 m) Assault Turret: 2 (800 m) Gatling Turret: 2 (800 m) Custom Turret: 4 Autocannon (800 m) .	Atrillery Gun: 1 (2000 m) Artillery Turret: 2 (2000 m) Gatling Turret: 2 (800 m) Custom Turret: 4 Autocannon (800 m) + 2 Assault Canon (1400 m)
Other	Production: 2 O2/H2 Generators Broadcast: N/A Autorepair: N/A Automatition: N/A External view: top semisphere	Production: 2 O2/H2 Generators, Assembler Broadcast: Beacon Autorepair: Projector, Welder Automatition: Doors, Production, Broadcast External view: fixed forward, all semispheres

The screenshots below demonstrate changes in the layout of modules:

Corvette RED Original	Corvette RED Tuning
Conveyor lines and layout of ship modules	Minimum lines and protect the tank and turret
Bottom view of lift thrusters and gyros	Hiding gyroscopes and thrusters from Gatling guns
Two entrance ramps on each side	One entrance ramp in the center and brake thrusters
Interior of the ship and Survival Kit under the ceiling	Using space for thrusters and lower the Survival Kit

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3155564485

Tuning details

Listed below in order of importance are the main elements that should be paid attention to when building or modifying PvE combat ships.

Hydrogen

For a universal ship for planets and in space, this is the main thing that should be. Therefore, it will be necessary to protect the main sources of hydrogen with armor or welders: tanks, O2/H2 generators, hydrogen engines, if there is no uranium. A warship should produce hydrogen itself only in emergency situations, so there is no need to install many O2/H2 generators on it. A large mass of ice reduces maneuverability, and an explosion in combat of a module containing a block of ice can lead to unpredictable consequences.

Life support

A Survival Kit or Medical Bay is a must-have attribute of your ship. If you die in battle, you must respawn on the ship and not somewhere else, otherwise you will lose it. The Survival Kit must be installed so that you can respawn inside the ship in free space. Therefore, you should not clamp it with other blocks, otherwise you risk getting stuck. Additionally, to play on servers, you may need a Cryochamber.

Oxygen is also desirable. You can play on oxygen tanks, but it is inconvenient and unnatural. Therefore, the life support system also includes sealed rooms with airvent. Full-fledged airlocks, with oxygen pumping between sealed doors, will be superfluous, since their work will take a lot of time and you may not have time to get inside the ship in the event of an attack. Double doors are enough to minimize oxygen loss.

Energy

There should be enough batteries so that after the maximum use of energy, for example after a jump or a railgun salvo, they will be enough to operate without overloading the installed ship modules, as well as atmospheric and ion thrusters, if used. Reactors can be installed in advance, but until uranium is found, there is no alternative to a hydrogen engine for charging batteries.

Since enemy turrets can be configured to destroy energy sources, it is better not to place them near the ship's deck and Survival Kit. The more batteries are distributed throughout the ship's hull, the more reliable the energy supply will be in battle.

Thrusters & gyroscopes

The basis should be hydrogen thrusters, because only they can provide the necessary thrust in any environment. You may also need upward-facing atmospheric engines for more stable flights in the atmosphere and saving hydrogen, as well as forward-facing ion engines so that in case of problems with hydrogen you can fly them to the base.

The number of thrusters and gyroscopes of each type and direction is determined imperatively, but upward thrusters should be enough to maintain and easily control the horizontal flight of a loaded ship, if you prefer to play on planets.

The thrust of the brake thrusters should be enough to comfortably brake in front of obstacles and not fly into the range of long-range turrets due to inertia. Usually this is neglected in the same way as with the protection of thrusters, preferring a better design.

It is better to spread the thrusters throughout the hull and “drown” them or even hide them in the armor, so that one successful salvo does not deprive your ship of maneuverability in one or several directions. Gyroscopes must also be set inside the ship and rest on strong blocks so as not to lose them in battle.

Armament

Course fixed weapons — artillery guns with a range of 2000 m. Automatic weapons — Artillery turrets with a long range of 2000 m, Assault turrets and Gatling guns with a medium radius of up to 800 m, and Interior turrets with a short radius of up to 400 m. Defensive turrets must have intersecting sectors of fire and cover the ship in all hemispheres, so it is better to install them on the sides of the case.

Decoys still work against automatic turrets and can be used to divert fire. It is better to place baits away from the main functional modules of the ship.

Armor

It must be combined — heavy, light, modular or hollow. The armoring locations are determined empirically after analyzing the damage, but if you are actively using forward-facing weapons, then the bow of the ship must be strengthened. As heavy armor, you can use corridors, doors, assemblers, refinery, artillery turrets and protect important ship modules with them such as survival kit, hydrogen tanks, projector, jump engine, welders.

Production

In battle, you will need a lot of ammunition, which is better to produce directly during the battle, instead of storing it stock in containers. You will also need components for repairs, especially if the ship has welders for automatic repairs. All this, unlike ore ingots, has a large volume and weight, which has a bad effect on the maneuverability of the ship, especially in the atmosphere.

To increase speed, you can install several assemblers working in cooperative mode and additional speed modules. As long as at least one assembler containing ingots is intact on your ship, nothing threatens your survival. It is a good idea to install a basic cleaner on the ship if there are welders available for auto repair. This will make it possible to recycle scrap, which will quickly fill the free volume of cargo and make the ship heavier.

Repair

The ship projector is a must-have item. Repairs can be manual and partially automatic with the help of welders. For manual repairs, it is necessary to provide quick access to containers with components through ports inside and outside the ship, as well as the ability to access modules behind the armor.

Welders must protect critical modules and must themselves be protected because they are fragile. Duplicating conveyor lines inside the hull will allow you to last longer in battle. It is better to use open or protected conveyor pipes, since they have light marks that allow you to visually determine whether the block is intact or not.

Automation

An optional but desirable element. After the Automotons update, it can be partially implemented without the help of scripts, for example, managing custom turrets, automatically closing doors, an enemy attack warning system, car parking, etc. This can be done using various controllers and timers.

Scripts can automate production, navigation, facilitate flights in the atmosphere and space, and improve visualization. I always try to install production automation creaks on the ship so as not to think about cartridges and components for repairs in battle.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2577438671

Other

There are little things that make the game easier and increase the chances of survival. These include: quick access to the pilot's seat from outside the ship, especially if interior crafts are used. The ability to get onto a ship from the surface of the planet without using a jetpack, if you prefer to actively fight in the atmosphere. In the latter case, a balanced parachute system will be useful, which will allow a heavily damaged ship to land without significant damage. An ore detector that can be used for exploration during pauses, such as after a jump or while waiting for batteries to charge. Duplication of critical modules — Survival Kits, Pilot Seats and radio signal sources.

The smaller the ship, the higher the cost of a design error. It may cost you a victory in battle.

Tuning examples

All ships preserve the original design as much as possible and have a link to the original in the description. Some ships are only available via a link and do not participate in the rating if such was the wish of the authors of the original crafts.

Most of the ships are small gun corvettes that have a mass of less than 1000 tn, dimensions of no more than 100 m and about 10,000 PCU. Ship control and automation are unified. All ships can be easily printed in survival mode.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3146615992 The main ship of the series. Based on two ship designs. It has high maneuverability and concentration of all types of weapons. Designed for combat in any environment. The design does not use DLC.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3155564485 An excellent example of minimalist, functional warship design. Heavy armor and all types of necessary weapons. Large supply of hydrogen. Can fly on planets and in space.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3143392294 An excellent interior ship that does not use DLC in its design. Well thought out manual repair system with access to all major internal modules. Designed for combat in space, but can land on planets.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3158940069 Original author's design style, reminiscent of a shark. High survivability due to heavy armor and low profile. Frontal salvo of up to 12 shells (including turrets). Decoys are armored on the bow.

More ships - https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=3164634323

[Survival Ready]

Mods certainly deserve attention, but the principles for building ships for them will also be different. Vanilla PvE allows you to diversify the survival process and sets its foundations.

[Total Pipec]

I think you should also mention classic PvE mods like MES-mods, WeaponCore, Shields, Reactors. I'm sure not many people play vanilla PvE.

[Survival Ready]

Everything is fine, thanks for your opinion. In my experience, there is one point that I did not include in the manual. This is exactly the size of the ship. Playing as a super ship against NPCs is not interesting. To ensure balance, you can capture a ship from that mod content and adapt it for survival or build something similar in size. Your engineering decisions must be smarter to win.

[Total Pipec]

Sorry for spam. Hecking Steam limits... :(

[Total Pipec]

There's no point in capturing small ships (especially small grid ships) - they have very few chance of surviving battles, you can't place strong shields on it, there's no room for strong guns... The only point is that the ship will operate alongside stronger ships or base which could cover it from an enemy.

[Total Pipec]

Personally, I prefer motherships like Stormfire AS-1. You can't encounter an opponent that is significantly larger than this ship, so you could withstand against almost any enemies. You can remove the extra blocks inside this ship and place shield blocks, deuterium reactors, jump drives and more inside it. That said, it has a hangar for a small grid support ship - this could be a miner, grinder, welder or scout. Also, this ship has lots of flat surfaces where you can mount additional weapons.

[Total Pipec]

I completely agree with all of the above. I would like to add the following.... You look at the enemy and think, "Should I capture him or just destroy him?" Imagine that you captured this ship, remodeled it for yourself and fly it. And then you meet another enemy... So before you'll act you should imagine the ship tasks, environment and support. Will a potential enemy be bigger than your ship? Will it have more guns? You have to evaluate the size of the ship - will it hold all the blocks you want to add? Also, evaluate its shape - does it have enough surface area to place the guns.